Meet your local guide upon hotel pickup in Krabi, and prepare to be pampered during your full-day tour as you relax on the drive by private, air-conditioned vehicle to the hot spring, located about 43 miles (70 km) from town and nestled in a verdant jungle.
Slip into the hot spring’s thermal pools, rich with volcanic minerals originating deep underground ─ ideal for soothing aching muscles, skin conditions and other ailments. Soak in the natural tubs hollowed from smooth stone and flowing with fresh spring water, which hovers around 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees C), as you relax under the shade of the surrounding rainforest.
Take a dip in the refreshingly cool river below, and perhaps ask your guide to accompany you to the crystal-clear Emerald Pool (Sa Morakot) at the Khao Phra Bang Khram Nature Reserve. Following well-maintained trails into the forest, you’ll pass mini pools, waterfalls and streams as your guide points out tropical trees and plants. When you reach the remarkable spring-water pool, listen to the rhythmic sounds of crickets, frogs and birds.
Next, fulfill your appetite with a Thai lunch at a local restaurant en route to Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Sua), a clifftop Buddhist monastery situated in a jungle surrounded by limestone rock. Search for tiger paw prints on the cavern walls and learn about their possible origin at the sacred Buddhist site. Walk with your guide up the 1,200 steps to the top of the cave, where you’re rewarded with the sight of the temple’s large golden Buddha statue as well as a wonderful view of Krabi.
Finally, you’re taken to a nearby spa for a luxurious 1-hour massage. Choose a traditional Thai massage, oil massage or soothing foot massage, or relax with a head, back and shoulder massage. Afterward, with muscles limp and mind in slow motion, enjoy the roughly 30-minute drive back to your hotel.
